Natty Nation


Roots, rock, reggae, funk, dancehall, dub, and more--this is the unique blend of music that is NATTY NATION. 2008 marks their 13th anniversary of keeping the positive messages of their unique indigenous Wisconsin reggae beats throbbing through the heartland. They bring 13 years of performance experience, 13 years of songs from a great original 40+ song music catalog, and a 13-year fan base. NATTY NATION has experience playing festivals, events, and other venues from coast to coast. The band has performed at hundreds of clubs, theaters, & outdoor music festivals, including the Taste of Madison, UW Stevens Point Eco-Fair, the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair, Harvest Fest in Minnesota, Madison's Freakfest 2007, and Habitat for Humanity's 100th House Celebration and a long list of benefit performances. Their messages of peace, love, and community are earth & people friendly. In July of 2006 JAH Boogie & the rest of the NATTY Crew took some time off to work on other musical projects. After an 11 month hiatus, JAH Boogie is back with renewed energy, spirit, and excitement to spread the positive vibration that's been ringing out since NATTY's inception in 1995. In this new version, he's stepping out from behind the bass to rock the mic alone, engaging the crowd that much more. The new band premiered at the University of Wisconsin Madison Memorial Union Terrace to a standing room only crowd of 4,000+. NATTY NATION tore through a set of all original tunes. Their musically hungry fans ate up every second of JAH Boogie and his backing band's tight but fluid, rootsy but funky, beautiful but gritty, righteous but real vibration. It was clear to anyone who was there: NATTY is back. The NATTY Crew has released five studio albums: The Journey Has Just Begun... (1996) Earth Citizen (1998) LIVE '99-'00 (2000) INATTY In Jah Music (2003) Reincarnation (2008) In addition to the studio albums, a host of full live sets of NATTY NATION performances have been released, as Fan Club Releases 1-5. To celebrate their return to the music scene, the band released Seth's Picks - Best of 2003-2006 Live, a compilation of the best live recordings from the past 4 years, picked by a longtime friend and fan of the band. In May 2008 this album was selected as the Best World Album of the Year by the Madison Area Music Awards. NATTY was also chosen as "Entertainer of the Year" at the same awards celebration. It's almost impossible not to dance at a NATTY live performance. Every NATTY NATION concert is a different experience. Their energy is infections, their jams complex and astounding, yet their message is simple--spread the positive vibration. The return of NATTY NATION after 5 years out of the Studio album game! Not to say that they haven't been active most of that time. During that time they've been touring, releasing several live albums (one of which, "Seth's Picks" picked up an award for best World album at the MAMAs), not to mention taking an 11 month break. The messages on the album, while in line with past messages, expand to directly include politics ("Just Can't Stand It"), universal spirituality ("Reincarnation" & "Black Hebrew"), a tribute to the victims of the hurricane Katrina ("Hurricane"), and protest songs ("Blind", "False Prophet", & "Violent War Games"). Of course all the songs have a message of hope for the future. "Reincarnation" is a departure from the previous NATTY studio albums by seamlessly combining tracks recorded with the full band with tracks produced by outside producers, including Man Mantis, DJ AV One, & DLO, creating a truly unique, coherent journey from beginning to end. Instrumentation Demetrius "JAH Boogie" Wainwright--Lead Vocals Aaron "Eyes of Moses" Konkol--Keys & Backing Vocals Paul "The Apostle"--Drummy Tyson "Tai Stick"--Bassie Jason "JAH Son"--Rhythm Guitar Biff Blumfumgagnge--Lead Guitar Discography The Journey Has Just Begun (1996) Earth Citizen (1998) Live '99-2000 (2000) Live 9.21.2000 (2001) Rasta Revolution E.P (2002) Inatty In Jah Music (2003) Live Fan Club Releases Vol. 1-5 (2004) Seth's Picks - Best of Live 2003 - 2006 (2007) JAH Boogie's NATTY NATION - LIVE in Eau Claire (2008) Reincarnation (2008)